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Crags Against Humanity Improvements Pilot Project Kickoff
Wonderful .
Twenty-two motivated volunteers came out on Sunday, November 24 to give thanks and support climbing in Southern AZ by starting of the extensive upgrades that CASA is planning at making at Crags Against Humanity. (link to project)
We constructed:
2 foundational, 150 pound steps
1 large check step
Collected ~ 2 tons of materials for additional structures
Picked up 160 gallons of assorted litter from the Mount Lemmon Highway.
Thanks to our hardworking volunteers for coming out, our stewardship leadership team of Eric Ruljancich and Andy Bennett, and all of CASA and it's supporters.
Twenty-two motivated volunteers came out on Sunday, November 24 to give thanks and support climbing in Southern AZ by starting of the extensive upgrades that CASA is planning at making at Crags Against Humanity. (link to project)
We constructed:
2 foundational, 150 pound steps
1 large check step
Collected ~ 2 tons of materials for additional structures
Picked up 160 gallons of assorted litter from the Mount Lemmon Highway.
Thanks to our hardworking volunteers for coming out, our stewardship leadership team of Eric Ruljancich and Andy Bennett, and all of CASA and it's supporters.
Crags Against Humanity Pilot Project
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Executive summary
This first-of-its-kind climbing infrastructure project on the Coronado National Forest is a groundbreaking initiative to upgrade the trails and landings at the Crags Against Humanity climbing area, which will:
What is it?
A groundbreaking initiative to upgrade the trails and landings at the Crags Against Humanity climbing area to secure access, improve safety, and prevent erosion. This project, in Partnership with the Coronado National Forest (who manages all climbing areas on Mount Lemmon), has been nearly four years in the making. We have applied for and received several grants and additional funding from the Forest Service totaling $80,000 to implement this project. The money will be used to pay for signage, a wag bag station, and an experienced crew to construct the hundreds of steps and thousands of feet of retaining walls and trails. Why is it important? This is the first climbing infrastructure project on the Coronado National Forest since its inception in 1908—over a century! For the past 10 years, CASA has worked closely with the Forest Service to build strong relations and allow projects such as this to proceed. This project helps legitimize climbing on Forest Lands. It also paves the way for the Forest Service to directly support climbing and climbing access through improvements to trails, access routes, and landings. Additionally Bottom line: If we’re successful, this project will help secure access and improvements to our climbing areas. Why Crags Against Humanity? Why not a different crag I like better? Crags Against Humanity was selected after extensive community and Forest Service input. It is a very visible, heavily used crag that is not in the Wilderness nor has archaeology concerns. The site is accessible for volunteers and crew, and materials to construct steps and retaining walls are abundant. If this project is successful, then CASA and the Forest Service will be able to consider improvements to other climbing areas. This is a huge first step to protecting and improving YOUR favorite climbing areas. When will it happen? This project is already approved for construction. On Nov 24, 2024, we will be kicking off work on the project by having an Adopt a Crag. For 10 years CASA has been powered by hundreds of volunteers contributing thousands of hours of time, and in honor of this we will be starting this project in the same way. In early 2025, a professional crew will begin work, augmented by volunteer support. We hope to have the project completed by the end of 2025. How can I help? If you are experienced or like moving rocks, sign up for our Adopt a Crag. We will also be conducting a highway and crag clean-up as part of the event, so even if you prefer lighter activity, everyone is welcome. Also, please consider supporting CASA by joining our board and core volunteers, or by supporting us financially so we can do more projects like this one. |
Crags Against Humanity Press Release!
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Tucson, April 16, 2024
Climbing Association of Southern Arizona (CASA) is excited to announce that the Coronado National Forest has fully approved upgrades to the Crags Against Humanity climbing area as part of the Santa Catalina Trail Plan. Expanding on CASA's nearly decade-long, nationally recognized erosion control work at Windy Point, the Crags Against Humanity project is a first-of-its-kind pilot partnership between CASA and the Coronado National Forest to build climbing-specific infrastructure on the Forest. Crags Against Humanity was selected with community input after rigorous assessment of potential climbing areas. The site has a long recreational season, experiences high usage, is easily accessible, and is suffering the effects of erosional impact. Planned improvements include belay platforms and steps built with natural materials, restoration of eroded areas, signage, a “wag bag” station for packing out human waste, and educational materials to help mitigate climber impact. Work is planned to begin in the fall of 2024 by volunteers and paid professionals. CASA is hopeful that this pilot project will be the first of many Forest Service–supported upgrades to local climbing areas. |
Windy Point Adopt A Crag
April 2024
Seventeen dedicated volunteers contributed to the preservation of our Mt. Lemmon climbing resources at CASA's 35th official Adopt-a-Crag event at Windy Point on April 7th.
CASA volunteers continued their erosion control efforts, which have been recognized by the Forest Service, at North and South Fins. Additionally, they conducted a litter collection along Mt. Lemmon Highway to maintain the cleanliness of our climbing environment.
The erosion control teams achieved significant progress, hauling and placing over three tons of rock on the Fins access route. This work included the completion of three massive steps and several dozen square feet of retaining wall.
The Grand Staircase Project, initiated by CASA nine years ago, is nearly finished. We invite you to join us at the next event to help put the final capstones in place!
The litter collection teams also made a significant impact, collecting over 350 gallons of trash, including heavy old car parts.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated! Keep an eye out for our next event tentatively scheduled for this November or December. We look forward to seeing you there! 
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Crags Against Humanity Project
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Coronado National Forest and CASA Collaborations:
CASA continues to forge and strengthen relationships with the Coronado National Forest! The Coronado National Forest wants to contract our own Eric Ruljancich for a few days to assess Crags Against Humanity and develop a plan to improve the area as part of their commitment to improving and supporting climbing areas. Once the plan is completed, the Forest Service will review it and then hopefully work in partnership with CASA to implement the work. There will be volunteer opportunities, so stay tuned! |
Baboquivari Stewardship Event
CASA's Stewardship Team held a very successful stewardship event in the Baboquivari Indigenous Lands, with general trash and overgrowth cleanup, and improving erosion control on many trails in the area. Here are some highlights from the event.
Many thanks to all the volunteers who have made events like these successful!
Many thanks to all the volunteers who have made events like these successful!
photos by Eric Ruljancich and Lora Rivera
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US Forest Service recognizing Eric Ruljancich’s work:
"As a trail user, I love the Santa Catalina trail system, and it is an honor to be able to lend my professional skills to their improvement," said Outslope Trail Solutions owner Eric Ruljancich. 
USDA Photo of the crew working on Pontatoc Trail #410 (12/22/2022).
Red shirt: Eric Ruljancich
Yellow shirt: Troy Swank
Blue shirt: Cory Martin
Since 2021 Outslope Trail Solutions has been working in partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF) and the Coronado National Forest to help repair trails within the Santa Catalina Ranger District that were impacted by the Bighorn Fire of 2020.
Through a combination of volunteer events and targeted technical crew work, Outslope Trail Solutions has completed repairs on:
Recently, the crew has removed 1.5 miles of dense brush from the East side of the Cathedral Rock Trail, and installed erosion control features to repair a heavily eroded section of the Pontatoc Trail. 
Before and after photos of Ponatoc Canyon Trail work. Photos by Eric Ruljancich
Additionally, a volunteer event on Ventana Canyon made improvements to make the trail easier to follow at the 2-mile mark.Work completed on the Pontatoc Trail:
For more information, see the links below:
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In 2018 CASA put together a Recreation Trails Program proposal to provide maintenance and restoration on heavily used Santa Catalina Ranger District Forest Service trails that are used by rock climbers, hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers.
The proposal stated that CASA would primarily be maintaining and restoring trails different from a 2016 Grant, but will be returning to a few areas that need additional work. |
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The project accomplished the following goals:
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Mount Lemmon Highway Cleanup
May 1, 2022
CASA volunteers came out strong on Sunday, May 1
They covered a lot of ground from the top at Marshall Gulch down to Hairpin!
They covered a lot of ground from the top at Marshall Gulch down to Hairpin!
CASA volunteers removed this and more from various locations on Mount Lemmon. Thanks to all of our volunteers and supporters who made this possible. |
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Pontatoc Trail on Feb 27
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A big thanks to all of our volunteers and the @accessfund National Conservation Team who came out and did the following work on Pontatoc Trail on Feb 27:
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Thank you, SoAZ!
2021 Accomplishments
2021 Accomplishments
